Blog Archives

On Feb 7, 2008 I blogged about my experience photographing the annual awareness raising effort for wounded military men, Soldier Ride, in Feb 2006 in South Beach. Now, two months later I still get hits each week from people who are searching for information on Soldier Ride.

Click to enbiggen

Click to enbiggen

It is for those of you looking that I have updated the photo gallery to include all of the photos I shot that day. The old gallery of just a few shots is still available on SobeStreets.

And now you have the option of seeing everything from that day in the new slide show. There are 195 photos there. The link takes you to the thumbnail page. Click on any thumbnail to start the slide show. All images in the slide show are large size (640px on the long side). Like this one:

I confess I wimped out and used Photoshop to make the slideshow instead of coding it myself like I normally do, but dude, 195 hand-coded pages is a HELLA LOTTA pages to write. Forgive me. If the web stats show that this is still a popular gallery then I will suck it up and code it all out properly.

Until then please enjoy the Photoshop convenience.

I put ALL the photos from that day into the slide show instead of picking a few like I did for the original gallery because if there is one thing I have learned over the years it is what I (the photographer) think is a good pic and what you (the end user) think is a good pic are rarely one and the same. So I put them all up there.

If you were there that day and you want any images for your own use please feel free to save as many as you like.

About Soldier Ride:
The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride is a rehabilitative cycling program for wounded warriors. For many of these combat-wounded veterans, Soldier Ride provides the first steps in the return to an active lifestyle.
For more information or to get involved please visit the Wounded Warrior Project website at:http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

The 2008 Soldier Ride took place last month, but I am blogging about it now so that I remember it next year. I am so grateful for the sacrifices our soldiers make on behalf of the American people, so I want to give them a little attention here.

So sorry to be blogging something in the past tense, but I believe saying ‘thank you’ never goes out of style.

Back in Feb of 2006 I was working for Finnegan’s Way on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. We were fortunate enough to be involved with the Soldier Ride fundraising effort.

Soldier Ride is a bike ride put on by the Wounded Warrior Project. The ride began in the morning at Finnegan’s Way in Miami Beach and ended later that afternoon at Finnegan’s on the River in Miami.

I went through so many emotions while photographing and getting to know the guys. They were so young. That was the hardest part. So young…so many losses…so not necessary.

Inspite of their losses, the soldiers were all in good spirits and enjoying the day. It was remarkable to me to see these men who had lost a leg, an arm or their vision and still not feel sorry for themselves. All of them had a “Let’s go!” attitude and did not allow their disability hold them back.

Quite sobering for those of us who tend to use excuses for why we can’t accomplish our desires.

This was my first time being so close to so many war injuries. There were moments of uncomfort as I struggled to decide how to interact with these guys. What is socially correct? Is it rude to stare? Is it OK to ask questions? Are they going to be offended if I take pictures?

I was quite intimidated at first, but slowly warmed up as I spoke with more and more soldiers. These guys are a lot of fun to be with, and the most inspiring people I had ever met.